No Holds Barred for Purdue-Wisconsin IV

ALBUQUERQUE — The last time Wisconsin and Purdue collided, March 10 at the United Center, guards Mike Kelley and Carson Cunningham knocked heads and left blood on the court.

Cunningham needed four stitches to close his gash; Kelley required three.

Two years ago, Wisconsin’s Kelley says Purdue’s Jaraan Cornell threatened to break his jaw during a game.

“I didn’t threaten to break his jaw,” Cornell snapped Friday.

A Big Ten bar fight has spilled onto a basketball court and, lucky us, they’re going to televise it today when Purdue-Wisconsin IV--This Time We Mean Business--meet in the West Regional final at the Pit.

A trip to the Final Four is at stake and, apparently, much more.

Are they really rioting in Oshkosh? Overturning cows in West Lafayette?

Can’t they keep the violence on the court, where it belongs?

“Obviously, sitting in the locker room, I’m not trying to win so people back home can go out and riot,” Kelley said.

The fourth meeting of Wisconsin-Purdue this season has a definite Big Ten football feel to it. Badger Coach Dick Bennett, a devotee of Vince Lombardi, even calls his screen setters “blockers.” Purdue’s Gene Keady was a former football coach.

No one on either squad has a jump shot you’d want to emulate. Now, crack-back blocks are another matter.

“You come out with bruises, bumps, even stitches,” Kelley said.

Purdue held court at home against Wisconsin on Jan. 15, but the Badgers won at Madison on Jan. 26 and in the Big Ten tournament.

“It’s almost like playing ourselves when you play Purdue,” Wisconsin guard Jon Bryant said. “Sometimes in practice, we’ll go for minutes without being able to score. That’s what happens when you play Purdue.”

Game preparations became easier when Wisconsin beat Louisiana State in Friday’s regional semifinal game.

“If it was LSU, we’d be up until two, three in the morning to prepare for them,” Keady said. “Wisconsin? How much can you know about somebody?”

Both schools play similar, physical styles. Purdue is better offensively, averaging 74 points a game to Wisconsin’s 60, while Wisconsin is the better defensive team, giving up 55 points a game to Purdue’s 66.